I’m back in xaouen, got here late one afternoon and was slightly nervous about what I might find. Mohammed, the mason, has been nothing but wonderful since I first met him. As I’ve said, he’s a quiet gentle man, who has an air of calm that just fills me with a knowledge that everything he does will be fine.

Except of course he’s working to my plans….there’s always that risk. Anyway, I went immediately to the land…I’ve nothing on it, having taken down the tent, beds, kitchen etc, before leaving…and of course it was already 17.00 when I arrived….night was looming and I needed to try at least to bring everything over by donkey first, if I was going to set up camp that night.

I couldn’t believe it when I got to the farm..I’d called Mohammed before leaving and of course he’d told me that everything was fine….but it was more than that, it was (wait for it…..here it comes…) fantastic…the external walls to the  bottom house have more or less been finished and it looks amazing. Of course there are a few details, but truly, in 3 weeks, including Eid, wow…nothing like the three + years I spent building Dar Finn.

Having been spurred on by one success I  then went t look for my donkey Mwalem, Ghalli, who’s looking after my stuff and has the transport to bring them to the land. He was about to set off for his other mountain farm where his 10 year old son had been these past four night, but brought over most everything before leaving. But my dash over mountain paths with a single mattress on my head trying to guide donkeys laden with bedding, boxes and tent, was a spectacle that I can only leave to your imagination.

By the time I’d got everything here, it was already dusk and there was no way I was going to be able to put anything up and so I prepped everything for a night literally under the stars, tho not bad on a super comfy mattress, with pillow and duvet.

I then set about seeing my Loubari friends and agreed to meet Mohammed at Waafi’s place in the valley. Waafi’s is what might be best described as a hovel, basic to say the least, but his focus is the tending of his vaste number of marijuana fields…home comforts definitely come at best second to his work. Obviousy getting to his…or almost anywhere else round here means walking through paths and trails covered by pot plants, currently over 2 ms tall…veritable forests they are…and what a perfume it gives to the air.

Waafi was out but his brother was there, and a whole pack of dogs, including our three whom he’s been looking after whilst I’ve been away…great to see the girls, especially Flynn and her brood of puppies. Last time she stayed here she got pregnant and so before leaving I tried to get her spayed. Unfortunately they don’t d that in Xaouen, for dogs, so she’ll have to come back to Fez…tho it would seem that she’ll have to wait a while as, Waafi later informed my, she’s already pregnant again….fancy a puppy?

I sat down and was immediately presented with home made bread, oil, honey and tea, tho it took me a while to realize that next to me was a 12 bore shot gun, which the brother had used for hunting that day, showing me the pigeon he’d killed and informing me that that was to be our dinner that evening. I’ve never eaten pigeon before but I can now definitely recommend a fresh pigeon tajine…delicious.

Of course the evening was great with tales told by all..Mohammed arrived looking dark brown with coal round his eyes and a broad grin across his face, tho Waafi came and went…he was off guarding…L’Isa….

You see, as I said earlier, this is kif country and the fields are filled with plants ready to be harvested between August and October. But, it would seem that this is just the time when rogues come along and cut down and steal the plants of others. So Waafi is only to be found tucked up above his look out torch, blanket, kif pipe and coffee flask all at hand and he keenly keeps watch of his crop.

As such I then found my self atop the mountain on lookout with him and Mohammed, discussing the various dis/advantegs of the various strains of Kif they are growing and the demands it is putting o the water supply…there’s plenty of opportunities to bring in the same community development skills/tools I use at work, here. …which is the whole point of starting this project; to be able to set up something touristy that allows me to generate my own rural development projects outside of working for agencies…..yippeee…..maybe that’s taking the work/life balance a little to far, but hey ho.

Anyway I returned to  my mattress, dogs by my side, waning moon overhead and a sky filled with stars and knowing full well, this is why  love it up here.

Today has been spent putting up my tent, building beds and the kitchen. Neighbours passed by and in, lots of warm salamas that equally had me going off to see the well that one neighbouring family are working on and to another to have a go at making some bread, which I’m eating tonight….just as well too, as my gas bottle ran out mid cook! Bread, fruit and goats milk (present from another neighbor))…it’s got to be healthy!

I also had a meet with Mohammed re the build and tomorrow will be spend putting finishing details to the final plan.

I make a very nervous amateur architect and so I’m hoping all my doodling and scribbling won’t end up looking …well…just that!

Time will tell.